Adam Ingram: On 8 November 2005 I announced to the House proposals for a second phase of rationalisation of the ABRO Trading Fund to address its need to become a significantly more efficient business in a rapidly changing market for the repair, maintenance and overhaul of armoured fighting vehicles and other land based equipment. This was subject to normal trade union consultation. Consultation with the national trade unions completed on 27 January 2006. Following subsequent discussions within the MOD, and consideration of the latest view on ABRO's order book, I am now in a position to make a further announcement.
	I remain convinced that rationalisation of ABRO remains necessary: the business must make continuous improvements to its competitiveness and efficiency if it is to have a viable future.
	I have therefore decided that the rationalisation of the LAND/B vehicles business unit (known as ABRO's "one stop shop" for unprogrammed repair) will proceed as announced in November 2005, including the closure and re-provision of the Colchester site and the potential sale and lease-back of part of the Warminster site, with a headcount reduction of up to 339 by April 2008.
	Since November 2005, however, there have been a number of developments which have a potentially material impact on the proposed rationalisation of ABRO's other four business units (armoured vehicles; major assemblies; electronics, weapons, Optronics and calibration; and head office). The principal of these is a deeper understanding of the likely threat environment on deployed operations over the coming period, which will require us to update and upgrade more armoured vehicles.
	To ensure we continue to have the capability to provide appropriate protected mobility for our soldiers, we have therefore decided to extend the depth repair programme for the Fv430 fleet of armoured fighting vehicles, which is carried out at ABRO's Bovington site. Consequently, the intention to move the Warrior and CVR(T) lines from Donnington to Bovington by March 2007 will not take place as previously planned. This will result in the armoured vehicle facility being retained at the Donnington site for the medium terra.
	However, there remains a pressing need for improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness across all of ABRO's operations, including the remaining four business units. The recent decision on the Fv430 and the consequential impact on Donnington will mean that the rationalisation proposals will need to be re-examined. The results of this work will be announced later in the year and, if necessary, there will be further consultation with trade unions.
	The Government remain committed to modernising our armed forces. To do so, we must continually look for more efficient support solutions to enable us to invest more resource to support our men and women at the front line. While this news represents a welcome development for the Donnington armoured vehicle facility; I hope to be able to confirm the final position on rationalisation later in the year.

Margaret Beckett: This House, and the farming industry in England, has I know, been concerned about problems with the Rural Payments Agency's delivery of the Single Payment Scheme. The Government fully share this concern and I would like to make a statement about action which I am taking today.
	The Minister with responsibility for sustainable farming and food, Lord Bach, told the other House on 31 January that the RPA would establish entitlements in mid February and that all farmers would then receive an entitlement statement. This has now happened in all but around 1 per cent. of cases and payments did indeed start to be made before the end of February.
	Ministers have throughout been advised that, following the validation of claims, the RPA expected to make the bulk of payments by the end of the month. Late on Tuesday afternoon the chief executive informed me that their latest reassessment of the position was that this would no longer be possible. This is an unacceptable situation.
	I have concluded that urgent action is needed to strengthen the leadership of the agency. With my approval, the Permanent Secretary of my Department, Helen Ghosh, has today appointed Mark Addison as acting chief executive in place of Johnston McNeill. Mark Addison has outstanding experience and abilities which I believe fit him for this task, and I have asked him to report to me by Tuesday on the immediate steps needed to get us back on track. A new chief executive will be recruited as soon as possible to take on the task of leading the agency forward at this crucial time.
	Ministers had already concluded, on advice from the permanent secretary, that there were structural issues in the RPA which needed to be addressed over a longer period of time. I am therefore announcing today our decision to set up a fundamental review of the agency, to look at its current and possible future functions, and the effectiveness of its relationship with my Department and its other key stakeholders, and to make recommendations for the future. Details of the review are being published today on my Department's website.
	I know that this House and everyone in the farming community will be as disappointed as I am about the announcement I have had to make today, but a successful conclusion to the 2005 round of SPS and a smooth start to the 2006 scheme will remain one of the Department's highest priorities.
	RPA staff have worked with absolute dedication throughout, often in the face of considerable difficulties. I am sure they will continue to do so.

Barry Gardiner: I attended the Competitiveness Council in Brussels on 13 March. Martin Bartenstein, Austrian Minister for Economics and Labour, chaired the Council in the morning and Elisabeth Gehrer, Austrian Minister for Education, Research and Culture, in the afternoon.
	The Council exchanged views on the state of play on the Lisbon Strategy on the basis of the Commission's annual progress report. In relation to this, we also discussed the Key Issues Paper prepared by the Austrian presidency, and agreed this as the Competitiveness Council's contribution to the Spring European Council. I supported the text of the Key Issues Paper.
	For the agenda item on small and medium sized enterprises, the Commission presented their Communications on "Implementing the Community Lisbon Programme—Modern SME Policy for Growth and Employment" and "Implementing the Community Lisbon Programme—Fostering entrepreneurial mindsets through education and learning". There was a discussion based on two questions set by the presidency. These related to integrating the "Think Small First" principle into European policy, and the application of the "One Stop Shop" principle to simplify administrative procedures for businesses starting up. Council Conclusions on SME Policy for Growth and Employment were also agreed. I supported the Council Conclusions, encouraging the Commission to consider adopting mandatory small firms impact tests and extending their consultation periods from eight to 12 weeks.
	The Council reached a unanimous agreement on the general approach text on the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) without discussion. This is pending the opinion of the European Parliament and the final agreement on the future financial perspectives.
	The Council took note of an oral summary by the presidency of the informal debate held by Ministers on the Services Directive over dinner on 12 March. The discussion was in the light of the recent vote in the European Parliament. The presidency reported that there had been a constructive debate, and that the Commission is expected to produce a revised proposal in April. The Council will then re-examine the proposal with a view to reaching an agreement on a common position.
	The Council took note of the Commission's presentation on a draft Regulation aimed at modernizing the Community Customs Code.
	For one of the items under Any Other Business, the Council took note of information from the German delegation on the draft Regulation on type approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions and on access to vehicle repair information (Euro 5). There was broad support in the Council for Germany's request that the Competitiveness Council should be updated on progress on this Regulation. Ministers in the Environment Council had a policy debate on this on 9 March.
	After lunch the Council had a debate on five of the seven Specific Programmes implementing the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) on Research and Development: "Cooperation"; "Ideas"; "Euratom" and two programmes relating to the "Joint Research Council" and on the Regulation laying down rules for participation under FP7. Relating to the Specific Programmes, the presidency encouraged Member States to focus their interventions on governance of the Programme ("Programme Management") and the ethical principles that apply in respect of the eligibility of projects to be funded under FP7. I contributed to the debate by highlighting that, according to the principle of subsidiarity, the UK believes that ethical issues should be legislated for at national level given the cultural and religious diversity of Europe. Therefore, the UK opposes restrictions at Community level and will enter a joint declaration to the Council minutes to this effect along with Sweden, Belgium, Czech Republic, Spain and Portugal.
	Finally, under Any Other Business the Council took note of a report by the presidency on the preparation of the fourth Eli and Latin America/Caribbean (LAC) Summit with regard to cooperation on science and technology. The Summit will take place in Vienna on 11–12 May 2006.
	The Council adopted a Council Resolution on a customs response to latest trends in counterfeiting and piracy without discussion.

Anne McGuire: I am today advising Parliament of my intention to engage consultants to conduct a strategic review of the future business options for Remploy Ltd., in the context of the Government's strategy for supporting greater numbers of disabled people into employment.
	This is a crucial next step in our response to the National Audit Office report "Gaining and Retaining a Job: The Department for Work and Pensions Support for Disabled People". This report found that we have made good progress in helping many disabled people. However, it contrasted the effectiveness of Remploy's Interwork service with the poorer value for money offered by Remploy factory provision. It recommended that we re-engineer the profile of the Remploy business to improve overall value for money.
	For over sixty years Remploy has made, and continues to make, a major contribution to improving employment opportunities for disabled people. We need to look closely at ways we can build upon Remploy's strengths and address its weaknesses. Ensuring that Remploy provides a modern, inclusive service for all those it helps, now and in the future, is critical if we want to achieve our wider goal of equality for disabled people.
	By bringing the costs of supporting disabled people in Remploy factories into line with those for supporting people in mainstream employment through Interwork, we will free-up resources to extend the support we offer to disabled people, both in terms of helping more disabled people into work and doing more for those who need it.
	The Prime Minister's strategy unit report "Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People" and the recently published Green Paper on Welfare Reform set out the Government's intention to do more to improve opportunities for disabled people. Remploy has a key role to play in helping us achieve these goals.
	To ensure that proposals meet the employment needs of disabled people, Dr. Stephen Duckworth of "Disability Matters" is to be part of the review team.
	The consultants will provide independent expert advice on the options for a radical strategy to enable Remploy to help more disabled people into work at unit costs comparable with other providers of supported employment, without compromising services for people with more substantial barriers to work.
	Consultants will provide the Secretary of State with advice on the options for a strategy within the existing budget funding envelope of £111 million per year and on alternative approaches compatible with the Government's overall policy direction to support greater numbers of disabled people into work that would be possible without the need for significant further investment.
	I am placing a copy of the terms of reference for the review in the library. We will now move to appoint consultants to carry out the review. The consultants will be asked to report to Ministers by the end of May 2006.